When a major hurricane is on the horizon, packing your bags and leaving home is the safe thing to do. But, if you're worried about the food in your fridge being safe to consume when you return, you're going to want to remember this brilliantly simple trick.

If the power goes out while you're gone, everything from meat to milk will be at risk. But if the power returns before you do, you'll never know if your fridge was running the whole time or not.

As Sheila Pulanco Russell, from North Carolina, explained in her post, all you need for this trick is a quarter and cup of water. Put the water in the freezer until it's frozen solid. Then, take it out and put a quarter on top of the ice. Return the cup — with the quarter — back to the freezer.

All of that may seem pointless, but there's a reason this trick resurfaces every storm season. When you return, if you find the quarter has moved to the bottom of the cup, then you'll know your food was unrefrigerated while you were gone and it's no longer safe to eat.

Found the quarter in the middle? The food is likely still OK, but, as Russell advised, "If you don't feel good about your food, just throw it out."

Where you ideally want the quarter to be is exactly where you left it — on the top. That means your freezer's contents stayed frozen the entire time. Genius, right?

(h/t HelloGiggles)

Check out what you need in an emergency kit in the related video above.